Consumer- focused companies from Ikea to European automakers are putting money into Indonesia to target the country’s young population. Investment will grow at least 15 per cent this year, a slower pace than last year’s 27 per cent, and a more sustainable level, Mahendra Siregar, chairman of the Indonesia Investment Coordinating Board, said . Investment growth has been faster in recent years as it came from a lower base, and the main challenges are a lack of infrastructure and the need to improve the ease of doing business . The Indonesian government is seeking foreign investment to support growth in Southeast Asia’s largest economy . Presidential elections in July are spurring consumer confi dence, leading to greater investor interest in the world’s fourth- largest population, Siregar said. Siregar will head to the U. S. this month to meet with software and gaming companies including Facebook Inc., Google Inc. and Yahoo Inc. to discuss designing applications aimed at a country with half the population aged below 30.
Source: The Vancouver Sun, April 28, 2014